Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

This conversation is moderated according to USA TODAY's
community rules.
Please read the rules before joining the discussion.

Arizona's internment camp: Poston Memorial Monument

Evacuees of Japanese ancestry are filling their ticks with straw for mattresses upon arrival at this War Relocation Authority center on May 28, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Evacuees of Japanese ancestry are filling their ticks with straw for mattresses upon arrival at this War Relocation Authority center on May 28, 1942.
National Archives

Evacuees of Japanese ancestry register upon arrival at War Relocation Authority centers in Poston, Arizona where they will spend the duration on May 28, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Evacuees of Japanese ancestry register upon arrival at War Relocation Authority centers in Poston, Arizona where they will spend the duration on May 28, 1942.
National Archives

Preliminary medical examinations are made upon arrival of evacuees of Japanese ancestry on May 28, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Preliminary medical examinations are made upon arrival of evacuees of Japanese ancestry on May 28, 1942.
National Archives

Evacuees of Japanese ancestry are filling straw ticks for mattresses after arrival at this War Relocation Authority center on May 23, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Evacuees of Japanese ancestry are filling straw ticks for mattresses after arrival at this War Relocation Authority center on May 23, 1942.
National Archives

A relocatee receiving a ration book prior to boarding the west bound train. After the final plans have been made, boxes packed, and grants picked up, the residents of Poston are at last ready to leave the center. Now that so many of their friends have gone out before them, it is with a feeling of anticipation rather than one of sorrow that the evacuees prepare to leave the place which for three years has been home to them. 09/1945 National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

A relocatee receiving a ration book prior to boarding the west bound train. After the final plans have been made, boxes packed, and grants picked up, the residents of Poston are at last ready to leave the center. Now that so many of their friends have gone out before them, it is with a feeling of anticipation rather than one of sorrow that the evacuees prepare to leave the place which for three years has been home to them. 09/1945
National Archives

Evacuees of Japanese ancestry fish for carp in the canal on northwest side of this War Relocation Authority center in Poston, Arizona. The boys caught eight fish between them on bent pins with bread as bait. The fish were thrown back into the water to furnish future sport on June 4, 1942. Handout, National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Evacuees of Japanese ancestry fish for carp in the canal on northwest side of this War Relocation Authority center in Poston, Arizona. The boys caught eight fish between them on bent pins with bread as bait. The fish were thrown back into the water to furnish future sport on June 4, 1942.
Handout, National Archives

On the night of the arrival of the first evacuees of Japanese ancestry, religious services were held in this religious center on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

On the night of the arrival of the first evacuees of Japanese ancestry, religious services were held in this religious center on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in 1942.
National Archives

Poston, Arizona. Evacuees of Japanese ancestry spending their first day at this War Relocation Authority center on May 10, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Poston, Arizona. Evacuees of Japanese ancestry spending their first day at this War Relocation Authority center on May 10, 1942.
National Archives

Overall Community Council of the three units with secretaries. Japanese garden in background next to Administrative Building which is being completed by the evacuees on September 1, 1943. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Overall Community Council of the three units with secretaries. Japanese garden in background next to Administrative Building which is being completed by the evacuees on September 1, 1943.
National Archives

Constructing buildings for Japanese-American evacuees at the War Relocation Authority center on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in 1942. Library of Congress

Poston Relocation Center

Constructing buildings for Japanese-American evacuees at the War Relocation Authority center on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in 1942.
Library of Congress

Evacuee of Japanese ancestry at this War Relocation Authority center cleaning up the grounds around the Administration building on May 20, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Evacuee of Japanese ancestry at this War Relocation Authority center cleaning up the grounds around the Administration building on May 20, 1942.
National Archives

Living quarters of evacuees of Japanese ancestry at this War Relocation Authority center as seen from the top of water tower facing south west in Poston, Arizona on June 1, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Living quarters of evacuees of Japanese ancestry at this War Relocation Authority center as seen from the top of water tower facing south west in Poston, Arizona on June 1, 1942.
National Archives

Barracks "C", at this War Relocation Authority center for evacuees of Japanese ancestry in Poston, Arizona on June 1, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Barracks "C", at this War Relocation Authority center for evacuees of Japanese ancestry in Poston, Arizona on June 1, 1942.
National Archives

Site Number 1 Arrival of evacuees of Japanese ancestry at this War Relocation Authority center in Poston, Arizona on May 26, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Site Number 1 Arrival of evacuees of Japanese ancestry at this War Relocation Authority center in Poston, Arizona on May 26, 1942.
National Archives

Arrival of Japanese Americans, evacuated from west coast defense areas at this War Relocation Authority center in Poston, Arizona on June 4, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Arrival of Japanese Americans, evacuated from west coast defense areas at this War Relocation Authority center in Poston, Arizona on June 4, 1942.
National Archives

Aerial view of Colorado River Relocation Center for persons of Japanese ancestry evacuated from the west coast in Poston, Arizona on May 25, 1942. National Archives

Poston Relocation Center

Aerial view of Colorado River Relocation Center for persons of Japanese ancestry evacuated from the west coast in Poston, Arizona on May 25, 1942.
National Archives

The Poston Memorial Monument, just off Mohave Road, south of Poston, marks the site of one of the Colorado River War Relocation Centers. Three internment camps near Poston held nearly 18,000 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry during World War II. This 30-foot-high monument, designed by architect Ray Takata, was dedicated in 1992. Republic File Photo

Poston Relocation Center

The Poston Memorial Monument, just off Mohave Road, south of Poston, marks the site of one of the Colorado River War Relocation Centers. Three internment camps near Poston held nearly 18,000 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry during World War II. This 30-foot-high monument, designed by architect Ray Takata, was dedicated in 1992.
Republic File Photo

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

Overall Community Council of the three units with secretaries. Japanese garden in background next to Administrative Building which is being completed by the evacuees on September 1, 1943.(Photo11: National Archives)

Editor's note: With the national conversation focusing on immigration in the wake of the presidential election, we are re-sharing this story about a World War II Japanese internment camp in Arizona. It was originally published April 25, 2015.

When the federal government rounded up a group of people and relocated them to inhospitable terrain where they were required to stay, it was a scene sadly familiar in Arizona. But this didn't take place on the dusty frontier of the late 1800s. This particular injustice happened shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

On Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 authorizing the secretary of war to prescribe certain areas as military zones and to evacuate all persons deemed a threat to national security. As a result, more than 110,000 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry, most of them American citizens, were evicted from the West Coast and transported to 10 internment camps across the country.

One of the largest camp was dubbed the Poston or Colorado River Relocation Center and covered 71,000 acres of harsh desert 12 miles south of Parker.

In times of war, everything moves swiftly. Most of the people received their mandatory evacuation orders with just a few days notice. They were forced to leave homes, businesses and possessions. They could take only what they could carry as they were hustled off to assembly centers for processing and then confined to an internment camp.

Life behind the fence

Living quarters of evacuees of Japanese ancestry at this War Relocation Authority center as seen from the top of water tower facing south west in Poston, Arizona on June 1, 1942.(Photo11: National Archives)

The Poston Relocation Center consisted of three camps, Poston I, II and III. The internees dubbed them Roasten, Toasten and Dustin. Contractor Del Webb brought in a crew of 5,000, who worked double shifts. Construction on Poston I began March 27, 1942, and was finished in three weeks. The other camps were completed in fewer than 120 days. Guard towers were not built because the location was so remote.

Families were assigned space in wood and tar-paper barracks, usually four families to a building. Living conditions were primitive, with many internees forced to carry buckets of water to their quarters daily. Furniture was built from whatever lumber could be salvaged, and mattresses were stuffed with hay. Clothes, toiletries and other items could be purchased at the community store or ordered from the Sears-Roebuck catalog.

The camp was named after Charles Poston, known as the "Father of Arizona" and the state's first Superintendent for Indian Affairs. All three Poston camps were on the Colorado River Indian Reservation. The Tribal Council opposed the use of its land for a relocation center, knowing all too well what that entailed, but were overruled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Army.

Poston served another purpose beyond housing the detainees. The BIA, which administered the camp before the War Relocation Authority took control, saw the benefit of government funds and a large pool of free forced labor. The detainees were put to work building dams, canals, roads and schools. With that infrastructure in place, the government could consolidate scattered Native American tribes onto the large, and now much more habitable, reservation.

The population of Poston reached 17,867 in September 1942, making it the third largest city in Arizona. A honeymoon cottage was set aside for newlyweds. In Poston, 662 babies were born and 221 adults died, spending their last day in a fenced compound.

For the sake of the children

Evacuees of Japanese ancestry register upon arrival at War Relocation Authority centers in Poston, Arizona where they will spend the duration on May 28, 1942.(Photo11: National Archives)

Many internees tried to make the best of the difficult situation for the sake of the children. Toys were made out of whatever materials were handy. Swimming pools were dug along canals; baseball fields, basketball courts and parks were carved out of the desert terrain; and classrooms were built from adobe bricks.

Internees grew vegetables and fruit and raised chicken and hogs to supplement the poor-quality meals the government served. A variety of jobs were available, paying $12-$19 a month. For a time, prisoners manufactured camouflage netting and ship models that were used as training aids for naval personnel. Others worked outside the camp as farm laborers.

Tensions were often high. In the fall of 1942, many heating stoves had not yet been installed and food shortages were frequent. In November, an alleged administration informant was severely beaten. Two internees were arrested. When it was announced that the men would be tried outside the camp, protests erupted and workers went on strike. A peaceful settlement was reached a week later, with the internees receiving most of their demands.

More than 1,200 men and women from Poston served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. There were 117 casualties among that group, including 25 men who died in combat.

Internees were released in 1945. Many of those who had been uprooted never got their property back. After the War Relocation Authority shuttered Poston, the land reverted to the Colorado River Indian Tribes. So did all the buildings, roads, canals and other improvements that came about because of camp operations and the labors of those who resided there.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act to compensate everyone of Japanese descent who was incarcerated during the war. The legislation offered a formal apology and authorized a $20,000 payment to each surviving victim.

Poston Memorial Monument

The Poston Memorial Monument, just off Mohave Road, south of Poston, marks the site of one of the Colorado River War Relocation Centers. Three internment camps near Poston held nearly 18,000 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry during World War II. This 30-foot-high monument, designed by architect Ray Takata, was dedicated in 1992.(Photo11: Republic File Photo)

Today, a few buildings from the camp are still in use. Others have been demolished or have fallen into disrepair. The Poston Memorial Monument was erected in 1992. Camp survivors and their descendants spearheaded the effort. It was built through donations and volunteer labor and with the cooperation of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, which are composed of Mohave, Chemehuevi, Navajo and Hopi people.

A 30-foot concrete pillar rises from a Japanese stone lantern. A dozen small columns circle the base and serve as a sundial. Informational plaques are mounted on the pillar base and a nearby kiosk. The legend reads:

"This memorial is dedicated to all those men, women and children who suffered countless hardships and indignities at the hands of a nation misguided by wartime hysteria, racial prejudice and fear. May it serve as a constant reminder of our past so that Americans in the future will never again be denied their constitutional rights and may the remembrance of that experience serve to advance the evolution of the human spirit."